Ozaukee/Washington

Stained-glass window memorializes a Wisconsin hero

Rose-Harms American Legion Post Commander Jim Arentz (left) and former post Commander Al Richards unveil a stained-glass window Monday that features the B-24 bomber flown by Lt. Roy Harms when he and his crew were killed during a World War II raid on a Romanian refinery.

Roy Harms was the first Grafton resident to die in World War II

Grafton — The distinctive twin-tailed B-24 is angled to the left on the large stained-glass window, pointing toward Roy Harms' boyhood home.

It was over his parents' house on Green Bay Ave. that Harms flew on his way to war, dropping a note wrapped around a .50-caliber machine gun round secured with a pink ribbon. The note with the names of Harms and his crew was found a day later in a nearby farm field.

Harms did not come home.

The 26-year-old Army second lieutenant who loved to ride horses and Harleys was killed in his B-24 less than two months later during a bombing raid in Romania. The name of the first Grafton resident to die in World War II now graces the American Legion post.

So it was fitting that on Memorial Day members of the Rose-Harms American Legion Post in Grafton dedicated a unique memorial to the native son — a large stained-glass window featuring a faithful re-creation of Harms' B-24 along with silhouettes of a sailor and soldier to signify the land-sea-air forces that fought in World War II. The window will be illuminated at night.

"Our post is named after him, so it's very fitting," post Commander Jim Arentz said after a short ceremony and the unveiling of the window Monday morning.

The 5-foot-by-41/2-foot window was commissioned by the American Legion post and created by Grafton stained-glass artist Gary Elshoff, who specializes in aviation art. Elshoff did a lot of research on Harms' plane, contacting military historians and members of the historical society of the 93rd Bomb Group. He learned that Harms was the pilot of a B-24D built in San Diego's Consolidated Aircraft plant, and because the plane was a replacement aircraft it did not have a nickname or the nose art common among World War II bombers.

To re-create the plane in stained glass, he discovered the exact color of olive drab used on the B-24 Liberators and found out Harms' plane did not sport camouflage paint splotches as did some of the other aircraft flown in the bombing raid of the Ploesti, Romania, oil refineries. He included the U and tail number — 240781.

"It was rather emotional. This one I delved deeper than some of the others," said Elshoff, who started his company, Flying Colors Glass, several years ago. "I was amazed. When we finally delivered it, it was almost like saying goodbye to a friend."

Costly mission

The Aug. 1, 1943, strategic bombing raid was designed to hit the German military in its gas tank. The Ploesti oil fields supplied one-third of the Axis powers' oil. The raid was costly for the U.S. Army Air Force, with more than 600 crewmen and 53 aircraft lost.

Among them was Harms. He was 26.

Five Medals of Honor were awarded for heroism in the Ploesti raid, including a posthumous medal to Racine native Maj. John Jerstad, who dropped bombs on his target even though his airplane was badly damaged by anti-aircraft fire.

The only son among five children, Harms did not have to join the Army. He planned to take over the Harms family's general store on Bridge St. in Grafton when he returned from the war. His family didn't learn of his death for several months because the raid was shrouded in secrecy; the telegram sent to the family said only that he was missing.

Her Uncle Roy loved to ride his horse Bonnie in village parades. He was a Boy Scout leader and he bought a Harley-Davidson motorcycle on his 18th birthday with money he saved from working at the family store.

The 6-foot-1 Harms wanted to serve in the cavalry but learned he was too tall for tanks. So he joined the Army Air Force and became a B-24 pilot.

"I never had the opportunity of meeting my uncle, but I listened to the stories that were said of him about his integrity. He was just cut from that cloth. You work in the general store, you want a motorcycle you buy it yourself. I would love to have that Harley," Eck said in a phone interview from her Arizona home.

Elshoff emailed Eck photos of the stained-glass window. She planned to show them to her 93-year-old aunt, the youngest and only living Harms sibling, who also lives in Arizona.

"I have just been thrilled to know that (Elshoff) was commissioned by the Legion post to honor Roy and others. I think it's absolutely fantastic," Eck said.

Shortly before Monday's unveiling, Elshoff looked at black-and-white photos of Harms hanging on the wall inside the American Legion post and noted that it was 70 years ago next week that the pilot flew over his hometown and the house where he grew up, dropping a message addressed "Dear Folks" and ending with "Love, Roy." The note said "greetings from the crew" and listed all the names.

Harms was last seen in his hometown flying his B-24 toward Lake Michigan on his way to England, and then Libya where the Ploesti raid was staged, and then Romania where his remains are buried.

Elshoff knew Harms' home is a short distance away from the American Legion Post that bears his name. That's why he made sure the plane on the art piece is pointing in the direction of the house.

About Meg Jones

Meg Jones is a general assignment reporter who specializes in military and veterans issues. Meg was part of a team that was a Pulitzer Prize finalist in 2003, and has been honored by the Milwaukee Armed Forces Committee for her coverage.